Mrs. Anastasia Rebello
“What Discouragement and Disappointment can do?”
Luke 24:13-33
What a weekend it had been for the followers of Jesus. It seemed that everything had finished in their life. All their hopes and dreams had been shattered that Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross. They were in state of shock and fear. Everything had happened so fast. It tells of two walking towards the sunset. It has been suggested that was the very reason that they did not recognize Jesus. Emmaus was towards the west of Jerusalem. The sun was sinking and the setting sun dazzled them that they did not recognize the Lord. However that may be true as a Christian man walks towards sunlight and not towards the sunset. Long ago the children of Israel journeyed towards the sun rising (Numbers 21:11) The Christian goes onwards not to a night which falls, but to a dawn which breaks. The two on the road to Emmaus filled with sorrow and disappointment failed to recognize the Lord. Many of us when things do not go our way we are filled with sorrow and disappointment. The encounter between Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of the most vivid of the resurrection appearances. The account is found only in our text in Luke. Note the three things that discouragement and disappointment does in our lives.
Discouragement And Disappointment Can Cause Us To Walk Away from the fellowship of other Believers (or the Church). (vv. 14-16)
As they journeyed they were moving away from the fellowship of the other believer’s in Jerusalem. When Christians allow themselves to become preoccupied with their dashed hopes and frustrated plans they often withdraw from the strength found in other believer’s.
The disciple were preoccupied in their own disappointment and problems. They had forgotten the truth found in Isaiah 43:2-3 which says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…”
Discouragement and Disappointment can cause us to walk away from the fellowship of Believers.
- Have you ever been disappointed? There are probably some who came to worship today struggling with disappointment. Disappointment takes many forms.
- Sometimes we get disappointed by people (spouses, work associate, friend). We are disappointed because we had expectations. Expectations sometimes lead to disappointments
- Sometimes we get disappointed when our plans do not materialize (marriage, school and promotion). Some of us find it difficult to get a suitable spouse for marriage. We need to discern whether we are really called to marriage. When the proposals don’t work out I’ve heard people tell me “God is not answering my prayers. God must be having a different plan for you. I had read in a book written by one particular bishop saying that we always ask our children “What do you want to become in life?” Why can’t we teach them “What does God want you to become in life?” Probably we will have fewer disappointments.
- Sometimes we get disappointed with the twists of life (death, sickness and broken dreams). Many people sometimes loose either one of their spouses within the first or the second year of marriage. That’s really sad. They have a lot of questions. All the answers given at such situations are never enough.
- Disappointment is one of those emotions we rather avoid. As we face disappointments we need to be reminded that even God does not shield his children from disappointment. We feel that God should not do it, but he is working a process in us. We are like that hard clay that is brought out of the shop, to be moulded into a beautiful pot we need to be battered and skillfully carved to be put on a pedestal. The ups and downs in life helps to mould us to what we are intended to be by God the Father.
- The examples in the Bible that I would like to quote are:
- Joseph had a God given dream but had to wade through disappointment in order to realize it. He was rejected by his brothers. He was the object of lies at the hands of his boss’s wife.
- Job experienced the loss of everything he owned. He lost his family and his friends.
- Jeremiah was called of God to be a prophet to Israel. However, he was rejected and his message was rejected by the people of God.
- Paul was called to be an apostle of God but he was persecuted by the very people who needed to hear his message. Paul was a Jew, but he landed preaching to the Gentiles. Sometimes we too like Paul are trying to tell our children, our spouses or our family member something about the word of God but it falls to deaf ears. We should realize that a prophet is not recognized in his own home. Probably if you go out people will listen to you.
I want to use a text from Luke 24 to consider this subject. Two of Jesus followers were on their way to a place named Emmaus. Apparently Emmaus was their home town. They had been to Jerusalem and were aware of the news of Jesus’ death. As they walked along they were discussing the events that had happened in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus death. As they talked Jesus appears and begins to question them. As they speak Jesus picks up on their disappointment. In verse 21 we find the words reflecting their disappointment. The two followers tell Jesus “And we had our hopes up that he was the One”
Have we not heard that phrase before?
- I had hopes our marriage would work!
- I had hopes my loved one would get better!
- I had hopes my job would work out!
Disappointment can make or break us, depending on how we cope with it. History has abundant illustrations of people who have struggled with disappointment and yet came out on top. (Eg.Abraham Lincoln). We too sometimes have so many things that disappoint us, but if we know our hope is Jesus then this sunset will turn to dawn.
Discouragement and Disappointment Can Cause Us To Live In the Past (vv. 17-24)
Many of us live in the past. Jesus joins the two disciples as they walk along, they were deeply involved in a conversation. The discussion seem to be intense, for three different words are used to describe it “conversed” (homiloun) (v. 14), “reasoned” (suzetein) (v 15) which suggests strong debate and “conversation” (antiballete) (v. 17) which has the idea of throwing words back and forth like a ball. In their bewilderment they were tossing ideas back and forth about what they had learned, heard and understood – and what it all meant in the light of the latest development, Jesus’ death.
When we go through some situation and it did not turn out the way we had expected we must learn to cope with it.
Here are two people Cleopas and the other unidentified. We hear of them only in this gospel. We have not heard of them before or later. We can take heart today in the fact that Jesus often made His most remarkable revelations to the least remarkable people. Here we see two people who are never heard of before and never seen again after this. Which just points out there are no unimportant people to Jesus.
Have you heard this line “My prayers are never heard?” If I tell someone else God will hear their prayers. The gospel tells us each of us is important. As Jesus meets these two disciples He knew their hearts and knew their needs. But he still asked them a leading question, and gave them opportunity to pour out their confusion and disappointment. He has not changed. He will still draw near to us and listen as we tell him what troubles us.
In the text Cleopas is amazed and says, “You have got to be the only one who travels in this whole area that does not know what has happened?” Jesus responds to Cleopas by saying, “What things” (v. 19). At that moment these two disciples were living a past tense faith. In the remainder of verse nineteen through twenty-one they list all the things Jesus was. "… So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word - before God and all the people, (20) "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.”
They summed up their condition very neatly when they said in verse twenty-one, "But we had hoped that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” Notice the use of the past tense, “we had hoped,” which strongly implies that this was not relevant to the present or they would not have so discouraged and distressed. Discouragement and Disappointment Can Cause Us To Live In the Past And… Disappointment will blind you. Notice verse 16. The Bible tells us Jesus’ followers were hindered from seeing Him. The reading of the text makes it sound as if God hindered them from recognizing Jesus. Regardless of the meaning of the phrase the point remains the same. Disappointment will blind you. Disappointment can blind you to the other wonderful things God is doing in your life. In our text disappointment blinded these two disciples to the resurrected Christ. They could not see the good news because of the bad news.
God is trying to tell us that there is something beyond. And that beyond I won’t be able to see unless I clear the windscreen of my eyes. So disappointment and discouragement can lead us to live in the past tense. See God’s hand in everything you say, then you will not get discouraged because Jeremiah 29:11 says “My plans for you for the future are to build you up and not to harm you.” So in the midst of our trials and disappointments there is hope.
Discouragement and Disappointment Can Cause Us To Question God’s Care (vv. 25-33)
Years ago Father John Powell told the story about a young girl named Norma Jean Mortenson. She was a young girl who spent much of her childhood in foster homes. In one of those foster homes, when she was 8 years old, she was abused physically and given a nickel and told to tell no one. -When Norma Jean tried to tell her foster mother she was spanked and told not to say anything about it again because the man she accused of abusing her was a man who faithfully paid his rent. As time went on Norma Jean turned into a very pretty girl and people began to take notice. Boys would whistle at her and she liked it but she wished they’d also know she was a person too, not just a body. After a period of time Norma Jean went to Hollywood where she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. Publicity people told her they were going to turn her into an American sex symbol. It worked. She became an overnight success. But she still longed to be recognized as a person. She longed to be loved. She went thru 3 marriages pleading for someone to notice her as a person and not just an object. At the age of 35, on a Saturday night, Marilyn Monroe killed herself. Her maid found her the next morning on her bed with the telephone dangling off the receiver. Clare Bruce wrote she thought the dangling telephone was a symbol of Monroe’s life. She died because she never got thru to anyone who understood her.
We have somebody who understands us, we have Jesus and through the power of the Spirit moves everyday in and around us. We might have expected Jesus to say, “I understand”. But in verse 20:5 Disappointments causes frustration. Jesus called the disciples “foolish ones.” This frustration can drive us to do things we would never do otherwise.
Nowadays people sucide for the smallest possible reason like being cheated by spouse, failure in relationship, failure in studies. Life is very valuable. Cowards run away from life and winners fight. No life is worth giving up for any girl or for any relationship. When you are discouraged find comfort in the Lord’s arms. He will strengthen you and he will enable you to do the right thing. These people know the Word of God but do put faith into practice.
We work our way out and think God should do something based on our faulty knowledge of His word. When he doesn’t do it we get discouraged and think God has let us down, that He has disappointed us. But the problem is not with God but with us. His words are not meant to harm or insult but to challenge us to believe.
- Do you not believe? Is It That God cares about you? (1 Peter 5:7). “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.”
- Is It That God can provide for you! (Phil. 4:19) “And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Many a times we think we need all this. So we have to discern whether God wants us to have it or not. If we find ourselves hurting and despairing and do not find that the Scripture speaking in our situation it is caused two things, either we do not know Him enough or we do not believe Him. If you feel that scripture is not speaking to us that does not mean that the Scripture is wrong. There are a few of the outcomes we experience when facing disappointment. All of us have felt the consequences of this deadly emotion. All of us struggle with managing it properly. We need to be reminded that it is not the disappointment but the handling of the disappointment that matters. The most important thing is to handle our disappointment with God’s help. We need to say Problem I have a big God, Not God I have a big Problem.
How can we transform this deadly emotion? In Jesus’ presence. Many go for the Eucharist daily and in verse 30 it tells Jesus broke bread and their eyes were opened. Every time the priest shares the bread, it is this sharing that helps us open our eyes. We are not people of darkness but the people of the light. The power of Jesus’ presence can transform us. The Christian is one who has seen everything, endured everything and has not still despaired because he believes in God. The Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human endurance, in human achievement; the Christian hope is hope in the power of God." –(William Barclay)
A. What can the presence of Jesus do?
• The presence of Jesus can transform defeat into victory.
• The presence of Jesus can transform sadness into singing.
• The presence of Jesus can transform darkness into light.
• The presence of Jesus can transform bitterness into sweetness
B. The presence of Jesus reveals God’s plan.
God’s plans cannot be frustrating. God’s plans cannot be defeated.
Illustration: When children watch movies they like action heroes. Shows such as Superman, Spiderman and Batman are their favorites. The reason they like such shows is because the plan always comes together. The plans of the action heroes are never disappointed. They always come out on top. We know that such shows are making believe. They are fictitious. However, the truth of the gospel is that God’s plans cannot be frustrated. God’s plan always comes together. We need truth that is bigger than life.
C. The presence of Jesus gives new hope and meaning.
Sometimes we go through life trying to make sense out of the confusion which surrounds us. How does it make sense? How do we find hope? Hope motivates us to keep going and not give up. Without hope we don’t want to do anything.
Illustration: A cartoon from the comics illustrates this point: Peanut’s cartoon: Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me." "On your 75th birthday," Lucy promised, "I’ll bake you a cake." Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, "Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to." Do you have a steadfast unshakeable hope in God? Hope not only opens the door to receive a touch from God, hope also moves you through the door. Like Linus, when you have hope you’re willing to get up and do something.
Conclusion. The two disciples were journeying on the road to Emmaus. They were confused and did not know what was going on. They were looking for a light to guide them. Yet they only found meaning to the events of the previous week -when the Risen Christ was revealed to them.
Instead of finding a light to guide them, they were able to put their hand into the hand of God himself, the hand of Jesus, the Risen Christ. And you may recall that in probably the most famous post Resurrection experience of Jesus, Jesus asked Thomas quite literally to put his hand into Jesus hands. In conclusion, let it be our prayer this evening that God our heavenly Father will reveal Jesus to us, so we can put our hands into the hand of God. The disciples on the road to Emmaus got up and were motivated to serve. Jesus helped them overcome their gloom.